Brandon Rash was 10-for-19 from the floor for Transylvania. Transylvania athletics photo by Chris Gross

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Transylvania received a sterling 25-point performance from Brandon Rash Wednesday and went on to post a 66-61 win over No. 14 Wabash in the championship game of the Don Lane Invitational sponsored by FHTM at the Beck Center.

The title contest matched two undefeated teams in Transy (9-0) and the Little Giants (9-1). The Pioneers defeated Hendrix in first-round play while Wabash outlasted Baldwin-Wallace. 

It was a game of milestones as head coach Brian Lane reached win No. 177 for his 11-year career at Transy, moving past C.M. Newton on the all-time list. He trails only Don Lane (509) among Transy's winningest coaches.

And the Pioneers kept their undefeated season going. Only the 1990-91 team (10-0) has had a better start to a year.

Rash scored 13 of Transy's first 19 points, hitting six of 10 shots from the field, keeping the Pioneers in the game early. Neither team led by more than seven (Wabash 18-11 at the 7:56 mark) and the half ended with the Little Giants on top by two, 23-21.

Transy was 10 of 27 from the field, but nothing for six from three-point range. Wabash, meanwhile, canned nine of 29, but that included five of 15 from long range. The teams combined for just seven first-half turnovers, with the Pioneers credited with just one.

Derek Bailey's seven points led the Little Giants in the first half.

The pace of the game picked up considerably in the second half. The Pioneers used a 7-0 run to open the period, with buckets by Ethan Spurlin and Chris Owens sandwiched around a three-pointer by Barrett Meyer, to take a 28-23 advantage. But neither team could break away in a contest that was tied five times and saw four lead changes.

Transy's biggest advantage was nine, 64-55, with 19 seconds left. Wabash canned a pair of late threes to keep the margin close. Wabash's last lead came at the 8:34 mark when Nick Curosh's free throw made it 43-42. A three-point play by Rash gave Transy the lead for good.

Rash finished the game shooting 10 of 19 from the field. He added five rebounds to his 25 points along with two blocks. Spulin had 19 points and six boards while Tate Cox popped in a dozen points and led the team with six assists. Meyer finished with seven points.

Wabash was led by Brian Shelbourne with 14 points and eight rebounds and Derek Bailey added 11 points to go with seven rebounds.

Rash and Shelbourne were joined on the all-tournament team by Ben Umbel of Baldwin-Wallace, Colton Primm of Hendrix, and Spurlin.

Transy was four of seven from three-point range in the second half and finished the game shooting at a 48 percent clip after making 14 of 23 tries (60.9 percent) over the final 20 minutes. Wabash made 34 percent of its attempts and wound up canning 12 of 36 treys.

After a brief Christmas break, the Pioneers return to action on Dec. 28-29 in the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas. Transy meets La Verne on Dec. 28 and Gustavus Adolphus on Dec. 29. Both games start at 9 p.m. PST. Transy's next home game will be a Heartland Conference encounter with Franklin on Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Beck Center.